Ingredients

Butter is made when lactic-acid producing bacteria are added to cream and churned to make an…

Method

Choosing your steakRib-eye: The chef’s favourite. Allow 200-250g per head to allow for trimming. This cut used to be quite cheap, but is now creeping up in price. It has an open-fibre texture and a marbling of creamy fat. Cook with the surrounding fat still attached, then remove after cooking, if you prefer. The fat adds flavour as well as basting the meat during cooking. Fillet: The most expensive cut. Allow 100-125g per head. It is very lean and, because it has short fibres, very tender. Ask for a piece cut from the middle of the fillet, not the end. Also, ensure that the butcher removes the sinewy chain that runs down the side. I like to cook my steaks split in half lengthways, not the usual round medallion shape. T-bone: Generally 350-400g each, including bone. It has a good marbling of fat with a layer of creamy fat on one side – this should be left on for cooking, then removed if you like. You get about 200-250g of meat, with a sirloin on one side of the bone and a fillet on the other. You also get some marrow in the bone which can be spread on the cooked meat.

To cook your steaks, heat a frying pan – to a moderate heat for fillet, hot for T-bone or very hot for rib-eye. Add a swirl of oil, with a whole garlic clove and a herb sprig. Season the steaks with salt and pepper and cook for 1½-2½ mins on each side. For fillet steak, cook the rounded edges too, turning to seal them well.

If you’re cooking fillet or rib-eye steaks, add a knob of butter to the pan, allow to foam a little and baste the steaks. T-bone steak has plenty of fat, so simply spoon it over the meat as it renders down. Remove steaks to a plate and allow to rest for at least 5 mins. Trim off any unwanted fat.

Slice fillet or rib-eye steak along the grain, then arrange on a plate with your chosen sauce and side dish. My personal preferences are for rib-eye with mushrooms and the shallot & red wine sauce; fillet steak with oven chips and bois boudrin; and T-bone with wilted spinach and mushroom sauce.

Recipe Tip

The pan

Choose a heavy-duty frying pan with a thick
base and, ideally, a non-stick coating. Don’t
overcrowd the pan – cook the steaks one or
two at a time, then heat them through in
the sauce later.

Recipe Tip

Resting

The cooked steak needs to rest for at least 5 mins and will retain its heat in a warm place for about 10 mins.

Recipe Tip

Checking for 'doneness'

Use your fingers to prod the meat. When rare, it will feel soft; medium-rare should be
only lightly bouncy; well done will feel much firmer.

Recipe Tip

Tongs

Gordon uses lobster-style tongs for easy turning. Don’t
turn the steak in the pan until it has had at
least a minute of cooking each side. That way
it develops a delicious caramelised flavour.

Recipe Tip

Oils to use

Use groundnut oil for cooking steaks as it can
withstand high-temperature cooking without burning and spoiling the flavour. Finish with a little butter at the end of cooking, if you like.

Recipe Tip

Seasoning

Don’t season a steak until just before cooking, as salt draws out moisture from meat. Gordon sprinkles sea salt and freshly ground black pepper onto a dinner plate and presses the steaks
into the seasoning just before cooking them.

Ads by Google

Comments, questions and tips

Your My Favorite Chef Gordon,
I've always had a problem with getting my steaks not done enough or too done...I followed this recipe and got so many compliments on the steaks Thank you so much...I joined just so that I could give a 5 star review and compliment you :)

craig916

28th Sep, 2013

Great guideline, This was my first time doing steak and this helped make it easy. I didn't bother with the garlic or the sprig because I wanted to taste my fillet as simply as possible, will probably add next time to test.

jocelyn1082

25th May, 2013

This is the absolute best recipe!! Expect nothing less from Gordon Ramsey, but had to share... AMAZING!!!
Signed up for this site to submit this comment alone!

hjames1623

16th Apr, 2013

I made this recipe last night and couldn't believe how delicious it was! A couple years I tried a steak in Beverly Hills and it was the best thing I had ever tasted, I've been trying to duplicate it since then and this is the first thing to even come close. Brilliant! http://thestinkingrose.com/thesteak-la.htm

krisandsammy

15th Jan, 2012

Hi, HELP...I am going to try to cook this steak tonight. I am no foodie or even a good cook for that matter but I care about feeding my family well.
I have either rosemary or thyme for the sprig, which one should I use? I am going to use avacado oil and would like to eliminate the butter, how big of a difference will there be in flavor?
Also, I am sure I heard that a steak should always be finished in the oven, can some one explain?
Samantha

bigwizzard

8th Jan, 2012

How can a recipe give timings "1Â½-2Â½ mins on each side" to cook a steak with no mention of the thickness of the steak??? And also no mention of whether that time is for rare, med rare or done???
And what does "add a swirl of oil" mean? What type of oil??

volaticus

27th Nov, 2011

5.05

Followed to the word and my Fillet Steak turned out beautifully! Have the confidence to take the steak out of the pan when it looks like it might need more to the beginner.

yurrnae

22nd Sep, 2011

Shazza, parsley is a good all-rounder, and has less of a "scent" than some of the other herbs.

nicklangman

7th Jun, 2011

5.05

Superb again. We used Marsala (for mushrooms) rather than Sherry (we didn't have any Sherry) superb. We could have used Vermouth as well.

munkiezuncal

19th May, 2011

5.05

Gordon's way to cook steaks made the job so easy for a beginner...Thanks Gordon.

Pages

Be the first to ask a question about this recipe...Unsure about the cooking time or want to swap an ingredient? Ask us your questions and we’ll try and help you as soon as possible. Or if you want to offer a solution to another user’s question, feel free to get involved...

Reader offer: £10 off + 2 free craft beers

Skills & know how

As well as helping you decide what to cook we can also help you to cook it. From tips on cookery techniques to facts and information about health and nutrition, we’ve a wealth of foodie know how for you to explore.

About BBC Good Food

We’re all about good recipes, and about quality home cooking that everyone can enjoy. Whether you’re looking for some healthy inspiration or learning how to cook a decadent dessert, we’ve trustworthy guidance for all your foodie needs.

Our recipes

All our recipes are tested thoroughly by us to make sure they’re suitable for your kitchen at home. We know many of you are concerned about healthy eating, so we send them to a qualified nutritionist for thorough analysis too.

This website is made by BBC Worldwide.

BBC Worldwide is a commercial company that is owned by the BBC (and just the BBC). No money from the licence fee was used to create this page. The profits we make from it go back to BBC programme-makers to help fund great new BBC programmes.